How to Make Forsythia Syrup

Last Updated on January 21, 2023 by Michelle

I’m pretty much obsessed with syrup, so it’s not unusual I wanted to know how to make forsythia syrup when I spied all the blooms in a neighbor’s backyard. When mid-May rolls around this sugarmaker is ready to think about syrup making again.

If I’m lucky, we’ve finally gotten all the buckets and maple-syrup-making tools cleaned and put away until next February, and our root cellar shelves are lined with golden jars of a dozen or more gallons of that amazing maple syrup we collected and boiled and bottled this year.

So this spring, while I longingly waited for our old lilac bushes to bloom so I could make lilac syrup and bottle my favorite DIY kombucha of all… Lilac Blueberry Kombucha… I made a golden flowery syrup.

And guys, I now have another syrup I’m pretty much in love with.

Below I share all three varieties of the forsythia syrups I made and bottled so you can choose your own favorite.

If you’d like to gift a jar of your simple syrup, print off these great gift cards.

Our lilacs planted here, all around our 220-year-old New England farmhouse, have quite a neat story to tell.

I wrote about our old farmhouse in these articles here.

And if you want my recipe for my favorite DIY floral carbonated soda you gotta check this out.

Table of Contents

Is there any value to adding forsythia to my simple syrup?

I’ll admit that the forsythia flower doesn’t seem to pack the amazing punch that a more fragrant bloom, like lilac or lavender or rose, would add to a simple syrup. But it’s a nice, subtle taste and there is other value as well.

Forsythia, like so many plants, contains a lignan known as pinoresinol. These plant chemicals are important as antioxidants for our body… We eat them in food like sesame seeds and broccoli and we get lots of lignan in olive oil, which isn’t surprising, since forsythia are in the olive family of trees.

Forsythia also contains oleanolic acid, which is a natural compound that helps maintain a healthy blood pressure. They’ve been using forsythia in traditional Chinese medicine as an antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agent forever, so I figured it certainly can’t hurt to make some sweet delicious syrup with this pretty flower.

See my recipes below, and if you would like to know more about the medicinal properties of the forsythia, my friend Janet, over at Timber Creek Farm, has you covered in her article about the herbal health of forsythia.

How to Make Forsythia Syrup

Whichever recipe you want to try, they all start the same. Grab your clippers and a collecting basket, and collect some vibrant, new forsythia blooms. Preferably early in the morning, before the bloom is tired and spent.

Remove the blooms and pile them high in a mason jar. You can brush off any debris or bugs you encounter, or if you have more energy to invest in this than I did, you can rinse your blooms as well.

Fill your bloom-filled jar with boiling hot water. I love my instant hot water pot. I think it’s the one kitchen appliance I use the most every single day. (I list it and my other favorites right here.)

Let the floral-infused water sit many hours, until it’s cooled completely, or even overnight is fine. Then choose a recipe from below.

Maple Forsythia Syrup

1 1/2 cup forsythia-infused water (directions above)

3/4 cup maple syrup

Mix the maple syrup into your cold forsythia water and store in mason jar in refrigerator for many weeks (probably many months).

yield: 1 pint maple forsythia syrup

Lilac Forsythia Syrup

1 1/2 cup forsythia-infused water (See “How to Make Forsythia Syrup” above)

3/4 cup lilac sugar (directions for making lilac sugar here)

3-4 blueberries (optional)

Bring forsythia water to a boil. Add blueberries for color, if you would like.

As soon as the water is boiling, Immediately remove your pan from the heat and stir in lilac sugar until it dissolves.

Store your lilac forsythia syrup in a mason jar in the refrigerator for many weeks (probably many months).

yield: 1 pint lilac forsythia syrup

Forsythia Simple Syrup

1 1/2 cup forsythia-infused water (See “How to Make Forsythia Syrup” above)

3/4 cup sugar (you can use any white sugar, but I like this sugar. I pick it up at my local Aldis.)

3-4 blueberries (optional)

Bring forsythia water to a boil. Add blueberries for color, if you would like.

As soon as the water is boiling, Immediately remove your pan from the heat and stir in lilac sugar until it dissolves.

Strain out the dried lilac flowers and blueberries and store your lilac forsythia syrup in a mason jar in the refrigerator for many weeks (probably many months).

yield: 1 pint forsythia simple syrup

My favorite ways to use these syrups?

Honestly, my favorite way to use my simple syrups is pretty basic. I use it to sweeten beverages. While it seems oh-so-simple, it’s amazing what these simple syrups can do to an average old cup of tea, or seltzer water, or lemonade, or–my absolute favorite–DIY kombucha.

Think a tall cold glass of lilac lemonade on a hot August day or a big mug of warm lilac forsythia white tea on a cold snowy February morning.

Go here for my favorite kombucha recipes, some of which include these amazing syrups.